food safety : NPR

Salmonella in Dog Food Is Making Humans Sick

June 15, 2012 • The latest recall of dry dog food has made at least 22 people sick, and should make you think twice about sharing everything with Rover. Washing your hands after handling and feeding pets can help stop the spread of Salmonella.

Many Food Workers Keep Working While Sick, Survey Finds

Workers harvest cantaloupe near Firebaugh, Calif. Gosia Wosniacka/AP hide caption

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Gosia Wosniacka/AP

Many Food Workers Keep Working While Sick, Survey Finds

June 6, 2012 • A coalition of food labor groups says that more than half of food workers continue working even when they're sick because they can't afford to take a day off. That's due to a lack of paid sick days throughout the food chain for people who pick, process, sell, cook and serve food.

Are Local Salad Greens Safer Than Packaged Salad Greens?

Miller Farms in Maryland is a family-run operation that sells its home-grown vegetables at farmers' markets and local grocery stores. Phil Miller, whose family owns the farm, says he's trying to earn a food safety certification now required by many food buyers. Maggie Starbard/NPR hide caption

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Maggie Starbard/NPR

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Are Local Salad Greens Safer Than Packaged Salad Greens?

April 23, 2012 • When it comes to food safety, big and small vegetable farmers are living in different worlds. And now the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is struggling to draft safety regulations that will apply to most of these vegetable growers.

How Making Food Safe Can Harm Wildlife And Water

A clampdown on contamination in growing fields has pushed out wildlife and destroyed habitats. Adam Cole/NPR hide caption

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Adam Cole/NPR

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How Making Food Safe Can Harm Wildlife And Water

April 23, 2012 • After an outbreak of E. coli in spinach killed several people in 2006, farmers clamped down on every possible source of contamination. Those safety efforts have also pushed out wildlife, destroyed sensitive habitats and increased pollution in waterways.

How Making Food Safe Can Harm Wildlife And Water

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Rewash That Pre-Washed Bag Of Lettuce? Don't Bother (Probably)

If you rewash your pre-washed salad for safety, you're not alone. But is it necessary? istockphoto.com hide caption

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Rewash That Pre-Washed Bag Of Lettuce? Don't Bother (Probably)

April 20, 2012 • Some listeners took issue with our off-the-cuff recommendation that they rewash already washed lettuce on All Things Considered yesterday. Today correspondent Dan Charles explains why there's not really a right answer.

Your Salad: A Search For Where The Wild Things Were

GRAPHIC: Trace The Many Ways Microbes Can Get Into Our Food Supply Adam Cole/NPR hide caption

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Adam Cole/NPR

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Your Salad: A Search For Where The Wild Things Were

April 19, 2012 • Tracing the source of contamination in fresh foods grown in the ground is hard work, and companies spend a lot of money trying to keep Salmonella and other bugs out while allowing nature to run its course. But it's not easy.

Your Salad: A Search For Where The Wild Things Were

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Is 'Tuna Scrape' The 'Pink Slime' Of Sushi?

Spicy tuna roll, or spicy tuna goo? iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Is 'Tuna Scrape' The 'Pink Slime' Of Sushi?

April 16, 2012 • "Tuna scrape," or ground up raw fish, has sickened more than 100 people with salmonella. Grinding up raw fish may increase the risk of outbreaks, food safety experts say.

Panel: To Safeguard Food Imports, It's Not Just About Inspections

A worker monitors the loading of containers on to a ship at a harbor in China's Shandong province. Under a new U.S. law, Chinese food exporters will now have to share more food safety information with American food importers. STR/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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STR/AFP/Getty Images

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Panel: To Safeguard Food Imports, It's Not Just About Inspections

April 4, 2012 • For a long time, food safety experts have complained that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn't have enough port inspectors to adequately catch contaminated imports before they reach consumers. But a report from the Institute of Medicine says the focus should be on helping other countries regulate better.

Battling 'Red Tide,' Scientists Map Toxic Algae To Prevent Shellfish Poisoning

An oyster shucker on Samish Island, Wash. on Puget Sound. The state is frequently forced to close beaches to oyster gatherers because of the risks of harmful algae blooms. Ted S. Warren/AP hide caption

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Ted S. Warren/AP

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Battling 'Red Tide,' Scientists Map Toxic Algae To Prevent Shellfish Poisoning

March 28, 2012 • Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are working to prevent outbreaks by tracking when and where red tide in Puget Sound will happen next.

Battling 'Red Tide,' Scientists Map Toxic Algae To Prevent Shellfish Poisoning

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Why 'Pink Slime' Isn't That Different From Other Meat Products

Lean finely textured beef, made by Beef Products Inc., shown before packaging. AP/Beef Products Inc. hide caption

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AP/Beef Products Inc.

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Why 'Pink Slime' Isn't That Different From Other Meat Products

March 28, 2012 • Consumers who led the fight against "pink slime" had food safety concerns and objected to the industrialized image of liquefied meat. But meat scientists say lean finely textured beef isn't much different from other products that end up in processed meat, like ham or turkey.

Wal-Mart And Grocers To Offer Beef Without 'Pink Slime'

Beef on display at a new Wal-Mart store in Chicago. The retailer announced it will offer consumers meat that does not contain lean finely textured beef. John Gress/Reuters /Landov hide caption

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John Gress/Reuters /Landov

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Wal-Mart And Grocers To Offer Beef Without 'Pink Slime'

March 22, 2012 • Wal-Mart has become the latest food retailer to announce that it's making changes after listening to customer concerns about lean finely textured beef, known by detractors as "pink slime."

The Salt

Chances Are 'Pink Slime' Is In Grocery Store Beef, Too

March 16, 2012 • An estimated 70 percent of the ground beef supply contains these lean bits of meat derived from muscle and connective tissue. The industry calls the trimmings Lean Finely Textured Beef.

Chances Are 'Pink Slime' Is In Grocery Store Beef, Too

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USDA To Give Schools More Ground Beef Choices After Outcry Over 'Pink Slime'

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will give schools alternatives to ground beef made with what critics have called "pink slime." mcnsonbrg@yahoo.com/iStockphoto.com hide caption

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USDA To Give Schools More Ground Beef Choices After Outcry Over 'Pink Slime'

March 15, 2012 • The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it believes beef trimmings known officially as "Lean Finely Textured Beef" are safe to eat. Nonetheless, it announced that owing to "customer demand" it will give schools the chance to opt out of it in the next school year.

USDA To Give Schools More Ground Beef Choices After Outcry Over 'Pink Slime'

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Fish And Spices Top List of Imported Foods That Make Us Sick

More than 75 percent of the fish consumed in the U.S. is imported. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Fish And Spices Top List of Imported Foods That Make Us Sick

March 14, 2012 • Outbreaks caused by imported foods are up — and so is the amount of imported food that Americans eat. Fish and spices are the biggest culprits. That's according to new data from the CDC.

"Lean, finely textured meat" made from beef trimmings is often added to ground beef as a cheap filler Daniel Acker/Landov hide caption

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Daniel Acker/Landov

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Is It Safe To Eat 'Pink Slime'?

March 9, 2012 • Thousands of people are adding their name to petitions urging the government stop buying beef trimmings. But food safety officials say the trimmings are still safe to eat.

Is It Safe To Eat 'Pink Slime'?

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